Paper-feeding mechanism.



H. C. HARVEY. PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 61-1917.

Patented Au 28, 191?.

2 SHEETS-SEEN 1.

H. 0, HARVEY.

PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM.

' APPHCATION FILED MAR- 611917. 1 2 38, 1 3 8 Patented Aug. 28, 1917 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

| z l /7 7 Maw/ om y UNITED sTnTns PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD C. HARVEY, OF MILVIAUKEE, \VISGONSIN, ASSIGNOR T O MILWAUKEE LACE PAPER 00., OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

PAPER-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented Aug. 28, 1917.

Application filed March 6, 1917. Serial No. 152,623.

and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper- Feeding Mechanisms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.-

My invention relatesto new and useful improvements in paper feeding mechanisms for machines used in the manufacture of paper drinking cups, and in other arts.

One ofthe objects of the invention is to provide a simply constructed mechanism whereby one or more sheets of paper may be removed from the stack containing a plurality of sheets and deliver it to an apparatus for conveyance to a point where it may be further operated upon.

An additional object is to provide a new and improve operating means for the mechanism W ich removes the sheets of paper from the stack.

A still further object is to provide a simply constructed device for engaging certain of the sheets of paper in said stack to prevent their shifting within the magazine which contains them.

With these and many other objects in view the invention resides in the novel features of structure, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed and shown in the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of certain portions of a paper drinking cup forming machine having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section taken on the plane of the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed transverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detailed diagrammatic views showing the several steps in the removal of a sheet of paper from the stack containing a plurality of sheets.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my improved feeding mechanism applied to certain portions of an ordinary paper cup forming machine but 1t 1sobvious it may be used on various machines and also for feeding other material than paper, for instance sheets of cloth. Therefore, only so muchof the cup forming ma chine has been illustratedas to show a complete and operative paper feeding mech- 3.1118111.

Referring more particularly to the several figures of the drawings it will be seen that the numeral 1 designates a table of a cup forming machine, the same being supported in a suitable manner and having rotatably mounted thereabove a circular delivery plate 2 having a plurality of concentrically arranged circular openings 3. This plate 2 is adapted to be rotated by any suitable means, it being pivoted at 4 and preferably has gear teeth in its periphery, the same meshing with teeth on the upperly projecting portion of a crank plate 5. The latter is suitably connected to the operating means forming part of my inventlon which .will hereinafter be more particularly described. The bottoms of the paper cups which are to be formed are disposed in the circular openings 8, while the other portions are fed into position and connected to said bottoms by suitable mechanism (not shown).

My invention is so arranged that it may automatically feed one or more sheets of paper of appropriate size and shape toeach of the openings 3 as the plate 2 revolves, therefore the magazine 6 which is to contain the plurality of sheets of paper is disposed above said' plate 2 and in a plane extending radially from the pivotA: of said plate. The magazine is mounted in a bed' .plate 7 also positioned above said'plate 2 and table 1, it being preferably mounted on the supports which carry said table. It will be noted that the magazine in the resent instance comprises four vertical ro s 8 of desired length having their lower ends reduced as at 9 and disposed loosely in sockets which are formed in said bedplate 7. The upper ends of the rods are held by means of a plate 10. The loose connection between the lower end of the magazine and the bed plate permits theformer to be readily removed for filling.

The bed plate? is preferably rectangular in plan view arid has a longitudinally extending recess 151 formed from end to end thereof, the longitudinal side walls offsaid recess being under-cut as shown at 12 to slidably hold a carriage 13 in said recess.

Said carriage also consists of a rectangular.

plate having its longitudinal edges beveled nection with the carriage 13 to hold the.

sheets within the magazine so that only a predetermined number willbe delivered at one time to any one of the openings 3. This means consists of a support 16 and a blade 17, each of which extends longitudinally of the carriage and into the opening l t therein.

The support 16 is in the form of an elongated plate having an attaching portion 18 by which it is secured to one end of the carriage. It extends into the opening I L from one end edge thereof as clearlyshown in. Fig. 1, whilethe blade 17 extends inwardly from the opposite end edge and is also secured to the carriage by set screws 19. The

blade is adjustable to position its inner end varying distances away from the inner end of the support, its attaching portion 20 being provided with slots 21 for this purpose, said slots receiving said set screws 19. Both the support 16 and the blade 17 have their upper faces which engage the sheets. of material within the magazine transversely. curved as shown at 22, so that the entireweight of the stack of sheets will bedisposed substantially upon the center of either the blade or the support 16. This is a very desirable feature inasmuch as the edges of the sheets are prone to curl and it would be difficult to disengage onesheet at a time from the plurality if the blade had'its' up per face flat.

lVhen the machine is idle the plurality of sheets of material forming the stack Within the magazine rests upon the support 16 as shown in Fig. 4-, but as soon as the mecha-' nism begins to operate the carriage 13 is reciprocated to bring the blade 17 beneath the lower end of the stack of sheets, both'said support and blade moving between the'rods forming the magazine as clearly shown in the various figures in the drawing. Since.

' the bottom of the blade 17 is in a plane above the top of support 16 it is obviousthat as soon as the end of the blade approaches the stack it will be disposed between the main portion thereof and one or more'sheets of paper which are to be disposed in one of the openings in the delivery plate 2. The support 16 and the blade 17 both being mounted upon the carriage 13. they will he simultaneously moved so that as said support is moving from beneath the stack of sheets the end of blade 17 will be entering the stack as shown in Fig. .5.

. Continued movement of the blade through the stack will sever a predetermined number of sheets as is shown in Fig. 6. The sheets which have been severed from the stack drop support 16 to be again moved beneath the end of said stack. As soon as the weight of the stack is shifted from the blade to the support the "carriage is ready to bereciprocated in the opposite direction to remove an other sheet for disposition in the next opening 3 as the plate 2 revolves. These movements of the several parts continue as long as the machine is in operation.

' As a general rule it is only necessary to remove one sheet at a time from the plurality of sheets within the magazine, but should it become necessary todelivermore than one sheet to each'of the openings 3, means have been provided for adjusting the blade 17 with respect to the support 16 to' readily per mit this. It is obvious that vertical movement of the inner end of the plate will cause it to engage the stack at varying distances from its lower end, depending upon the direction and amount of vertical movement imparted to the blade. In carrying out this arrangement the attaching portion 20 except the part immediately adjacent the blade 17 is considerably thicker than the latter as shown in Fig. 2. The inner slot- 2l-is dis-- posed in the thin part of the attaching portion, and-the'nature of the metal from which the blade is formed issuch that by adjusting the inner set screw 19 the innerend of .the blade will be raised or lowered vertically. In this simple manner a predetermined number of sheets may be readily removed.

at any time from the stack.

Under certain climatic or atmospheric conditions for instance when there is an excessive amount of humidity or electricity in the air, the sheets 0f paper as they are severed from the stack will tend to adhere or cling to the lower side of the blade, therefore a stripper 23 has beendisposed on the under side of'said blade. This stripper consists of athin leaf spring of appropriate design attached to the carriage by means of the inner set screw 19.

As hereinbefore mentioned the crank plate 5 is connected to the operating means of the carriage 13, this connection being shown to consist of a pitman 24. The said pitman is connected to'one end of a lever 25 which is mounted intermediately of its ends on a bracket 26 carried by the table 1. The other end of the lever has a two part longitudinally adjustable arm 27 pivoted thereto as at 28, said arm having its free end detachably connected to one end of the carriage 13. Any form of quick detachable connection may be used to unite the end of the arm 27 and the carriage, the same bein shown as comprising a stud 29 projecting trom the attaching portion 18 of the support 16 and a notch 30 in one side of said arm for engaging with the stud. it will be seen that as the crank plate revolves movement will be transmitted therefrom to the carriage 13 throu h the pitman 24, the lever 25 andthe arm 2 The carriage will thus be caused to reciprocate, but since it is desirable to cause the blade 17 to move through the stack of sheets at a high rate of speed, an additional operating means is provided for moving the car riage in this direction. In order that this means may efiectively operate it is necessary to disengage the end of the arm 27- from the stud 29 as the same reaches the end of its path of movement in an inward direction. In carrying this out a laterally extending finger 31 is secured to one side of the arm 27 so that as said arm moves inwardly one inclined face of the finger will engage a pin 32 projecting from one side of the bed plate and gradually disengage the notch 30 from the stud 29. As soon as these parts are disengaged a weight 33 connected to the end of the carriage bya belt 34. or the like will exert its force to quickly move the blade 17 through the stack of sheets, the speed of movement being such that there will be no danger of the blade mutilating any of the sheets.

The belt 34 is trained over the pulley 35 mounted between the arms of a yoke 36 which is secured to one end of the bed plate 7 An eye or loop 37 formed on the end of the carriage is preferably used for attaching the end of the belt thereto. Semi-resilient stops 38 are secured at the end of the bed plate to receive the impact of the carriage as it is forcibly moved outwardly by the weight 33.

The finger 31 may further be utilized to return the arm 27 into engagement with the stud 29, a second pin 39 being carried by the bed plate at a point spaced from the pin 32 for this purpose. The pin 39 engages the opposite face of the finger from that with which the pin 32 contacts and when the arm is moving in an opposite direction, in other word outwardly, it is believed that the movement of the armduring its disengagement from the stud 29 and its relingagement therewith is readily evident from Fig. 1 without further description. In some instances it might be necessary to use the coil spring 4L0 to more quickly return the arm 27 into engagement with stud 29, said spring being secured by its opposite ends to the bed plate and arm respectively.

her to the bed plate.

On some occasions the bottoms of the drinking cups or other articles which are to be made are formed in other than circular shape, for instance they might be scalloped as shown in Fig-1. In such a case it is desirable to have a device for preventing shift ing of the sheets within the magazine and to hold the same in such a position that the end. of the blade 17 will engage the outwardly projecting portions thereof instead of the notches therein. A suitable form of such device is illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein it will be noted that the same consists of a substantially right-angular member, one

arm 41 of which is slotted to receive a set screw 42 for adjustably securing the mem- The other arm 43 is disposed substantially vertically and is adapted to engage in any one of the notches in the peripheries of the sheets. When this member is not in use the set screwmay be loosened and the same swung outwardly so that the arm 43' will not project within the magazine.

From the fore oing description taken in connection with t e accompanying drawings it is obvious that a very simply constructed paper feeding mechanism has been pro duced. The parts of this mechanism are so arranged that the same will be much more eiiicient and More easily and quickly operated than any other similar mechanism now in use. Various minor changes may be made in form and proportion of various parts to accommodate their use with machines of different kinds without departing from or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. In the mechanism of the class described, a magazine adapted tocontain a plurality of sheets of material, a pair of simultaneously shiftable members disposed end to end in longitudinal alinement and adapted to alternately engage the plurality of sheets, one of said members being adapted to remove one of said sheets upon each engagement with the plurality, means for said opening and secured to the carriage, setscrews entending through said slots and into the carriage to ad ustably secure said blade thereto, said blade being adjustable longitudinally with respect ,to the support to move the same varying distances apart, the sheet engaging portion of'said-blade being also adjustable transverselywith respect to the support by adjustingthe set screw extending through the slot in said sheet engaging portion, and means for operating said carriage,

3. In a mechanism of the class described, a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of sheets of material, a support to engage the plurality of sheets, a blade to remove one of said sheets from the plurality, the

of 'said sheets from the plurality, and means for shifting said support and blade to alternately engage said plurality of sheets.

4;. In a mechanism of theclass-described abed plate having a number of sockets,

therein, a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of sheets of material and comprising a number of-spaced parallel rods having one'end loosely disposed in said sockets,

' rality.

a plate connected to other ends of the rods,

and a member movable betweencertain of said rods to remove sheets from said plu- 5. In a mechanism of the class described,

' a bed plate, a carriage hav1ng an opening therein, a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of sheets of material and comprising a number of spaced rods securedin said bed plate and projecting through said opening in the carriage, a member attached to the carriage, and extended into the opening therein, said member being movable between certain of said rods to remove sheets from said plurality, and means form Vingsaid.

member. I '6. In amechanis'm of the class described,

a magazine adapted to contain a plurality,

of sheets of material, a blade for removing one of said sheets from the plurality and a leaf spring disposed on one side of saidblade to prevent adhesion of the separated sheet to said blade. I 7. In a mechanism of the class described,

a magazine adapted to contain, a plurality of sheets of material, a carriage movable thereadjacent, a blade, means for attaching said blade to the carriage, and a leaf spring disposed on one side of the blade to prevent adhesion of the sheets to the blade, said spring being secured to the carriage by said blade attaching means.

- 8. Ina mechanism of the class described, a bed plate, a magazine adapted to conlain a plurality of sheets of material, said maga zine being mounted on said bed plate, means for removing one of said sheets from said plurality, and apivoted device movable into and out of said magazine'for engagement with said sheets to preventthe shift-- ing thereof,

rightangulan .member having one engagement 'With the periphery of the sheets, a set screw extending throine'h said device comprising a arm slotted, the other arm forming a head i0):

said slot in the arm into the bedplate to hold said member in adjustable positions thereon.

In a mechanism of the class described,

a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of sheets of. material, a member adapted to lmembcr upon movement of the former, and

an operating means connected with the arm. 11. In a mechanism of the'class described,

a plurality of sheets of material,.'a member adapted to remove one of said sheets, means for projectingthe member, and means for retracting the member comprising an arm,

a detachable connection between said arm' and the member, a stud on the bed plate, a finger carried by the arm to. engage said stud upon movement of the member, whereby to detach the arm from the latter, and an operating' mechanismconnected With the arm.-

' 12. Ina mechanism of the class'described,

a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of sheets of material, a member adapted to remove one of said sheets, means forflprothe member comprising an arm, a detachabed plate, a magazine adapted to contain -jecting the member, means for retracting able connection between-the free end of the for projecting the member, means for retracting the member comprising an arm, a detachable connection between said arm and the member, a stud on the bed plate, finger carried by the arm to engage said stud upon movement of the member in one direction,

whereby to detach the armfrom the member, means for reattaching said arm to the member upon further movement of the latter, and an operating mechanism connected with the arm.

14:. In a mechanism ofthe class described, a bed plate, a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of sheets of material, a member adapted to remove one of said sheets, means for projecting the member, means for retracting the member comprising an arm, a detachable connection between said arm and the member, a pair of studs on the bed plate, a finger carried by the arm to engageone of said studs When mot ed in one direction, whereby to detach the arm from the memher, said finger being adapted to engage the other stud to reattach said arm to the member when the latter is moved in the reverse direction, and an operating mechanism connected with the arm.

15. v In a mechanism of the class described, a magazine adapted to contain a pluralitv of sheets of material, a carriage movable thereadjacent, a member carried by the carriage and adapted to remove one of said sheets, means for projecting said .member, and

'means for retracting said member comprismg an arm, said arm having a notch formed in its free end, a stud on the carriage to'be .detachably engaged by the notch in said WViseonsin.

' HAROLD G. HARVEY. 

